Picky eater question about substituting ground turkey for ground beef.?!


Question: My daughter is a picky eater. I send lunches with her to school (she is 7) to help her eat more healthy and organic. I struggle to get veggies down her. I was at a loss because she will not eat anything. I sent taco's in her lunch. She went crazy and said send them every day.

I refuse to send red meat in her lunch every day. Do you think she would notice if I substituted ground turkey instead of ground beef for the meat? I have a great recipe.

Please help. This is really important.


Answers: My daughter is a picky eater. I send lunches with her to school (she is 7) to help her eat more healthy and organic. I struggle to get veggies down her. I was at a loss because she will not eat anything. I sent taco's in her lunch. She went crazy and said send them every day.

I refuse to send red meat in her lunch every day. Do you think she would notice if I substituted ground turkey instead of ground beef for the meat? I have a great recipe.

Please help. This is really important.

Not unless you tell her.......prepare it when she's not around and get rid of the "evidence".......you obviously want to send her with a nutritional balance, nothing wrong with tacos......balanced in protein, (meat) calcium (cheese) veggies (lettuce, salsa) carbohydrate and fat (taco shell) So, Kelli, you have all the bases covered.....BTW, does she like quesadillas??? You can throw some chicken strips into those and you're good to go....Enjoy!!

Christopher

I doubt it. It will taste very similar after you've seasoned it. Just be sure and not tell her or she'll convince herself that its not good just to spite. you!

Yes that stuff tates alot different, if you have found a way to make that stuff where you can't tell the difference I want to know.

i opt for turkey. this was a blind taste test too. my boyfriend seasoned them really well and quite frankly they just tasted better than ground beef. Just dont tell her... she'll probably make herself not like it if you do :O)

I do not think a 7 year old (or most adults for that matter) can tell the difference. You might also try Jessica Seinfeld's book. She has some great recipies where you can put pureed vegetables in foods. It is called Deceptively Delicious

Nope, just do it and don't mention it. She'll never notice, especially if you use the exact spices.

the Taco is a sandwich, as such you can put anything in them, if you do not tell her waht is in them i doubt that she will continue to be "picky" start making tounge, cabeza, tripe, carnitas, etc

season it well, and use the dark meat, not turkey breast. it will conceal the difference a little better. season well, with a darker chili powder if you can, might help also.

kids are weird. ask a doctor.
She might get mad and not eat it , but talk to her, thats the thing to do.

i love turkey tacos they seem to have more flavor, try she may not notice

Nope, I use it all the time, my husband doesn't even know...and everytime I buy ground turkey he says "ugh, why do you buy that? I never eat it"

Just make sure the ground turkey you are buying is the lean kind, some of it has just as much fat as ground beef!

posting this in the vegetarian and vegan section you might get bashed for serving meat !
Well I won't. Ground turkey with taco seasoning is very good and hard to tell the difference. Turkey chili is delicious too. Turkey meatloaf, not so good.
Good for you for wanting to make sure your child has a healthy diet.

I think anyone who is picky about their food would notice.
Then does it matter or not, is up to the person.

Could be that she is craving a flavor , texture that you are denying her by choosing a meet free diet for her.

Children are generally very active and healthy they don't have the same concerns of heart disorders or cholesterol that adults have. The need calories and protein.

It is important to teach them about healthy eating habits but while they are young but you gotta get food into them. Lean ground beef , lettuce ,tomato and a Tortola sounds like all of the food groups to me.

There are some great meat substitutes that taste very similar to ground beef.
Lightlife makes these: http://www.lightlife.com/product_categor...
Boca makes this: http://www.bocaburger.com/product_meatle...
Morningstar makes this: http://www.seeveggiesdifferently.com/pro...
There are many more, but I think those are the most readily available. I know a Wal-Mart supercenter will carry at least one of those.

I don't know about her....but my mom tried that on me when I was younger, and I noticed immediately. I hate the texture of ground turkey...and it tastes nothing like ground beef...you would have to mask the flavor with so much salt and seasoning you would lose the healthy aspect of it anyway...

Consult a diatician.

Go for it.

Turkey Tacos rock.

If that doesn't work, try sending Buffalo instead. it's still red meat, but much healthier than beef.

I don't think she'll notice.

Add extra garlic to the turkey. It makes all the difference in the world to me, even though I don't like the texture of ground beef or turkey (and they are different) Or you could start off half beef and half turkey and slowly reduce the beef, then it wouldn't be such a drastic change. I use half and half alot!

she'll catch you w/ the diff taste , try mixing small amount of turkey w/ ground beef , you can make burgers + puree a small amount of what veggie you'd like in them , mix well , try a couple at home , it's a start , just like buying brown eggs in a carton + later putting my own eggs in the same carton , the 12 year old did not even know for 3 months + now does not care- even though " that's gross " was the 1st response to real chicken eggs

After you have seasoned it, there should not be much of a taste difference. My picky daughter actually prefers ground turkey since it is not as "rubbery" as ground beef. Just be sure to use "lean" ground turkey to reap the health benefits. Not all ground turkey is lean and some of it can have just as much fat as ground beef.
To help camoflage the color of the different meat, try a browning agent like Kitchen Bouquet in addition to your taco seasoning.
Good suggestion by one of the other posters to try quesadillas also.

The turkey will be much more healthy for her. If the great recipe does include good seasoning, I doubt if she will notice. Make sure it is well seasoned because ground turkey can be quite bland otherwise.





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